The Blessed Unrest
by theothergranger
Summary: AU, Beca Mitchell is a successful DJ embarking on her next venture- a new record label. When Aubrey Posen, a combative and brilliant agent, approaches her with a talented girl who needs a new direction for her career, how can she resist? Contains mentions of eating disorders/self-harm/depression. Title inspired by Sara Bareilles. Eventually will be M.
1. Introduction

**So! My first Pitch Perfect fanfiction! Let me know what you think! If it's a bit rough I apologize, I am looking for a beta if anyone is interested.  
****As with all my fics, there's going to be a "soundtrack," though it's going to start after this introduction chapter.  
I hope you enjoy!**

**XXX**

It's just after one in the morning and Beca has sought refuge in the club owner's office, which is doubling for the evening as her green room. Having just performed a rather lengthy, intense set, she's in desperate need of a drink. Make it several. Performing well isn't make-or-break for her anymore, which, ironically, only makes her pressure herself more. She refuses to allow her career to do anything but progress, and performing some sort of "standard" playlist at _any_ club is absolutely out of the question.

And this self-imposed high standard is how Beca finds herself absolutely swamped at the bar in the VIP section by highly-esteemed reporters, asking for her opinion on the current music scene, managers, offering their services since they find themselves better than the one she already has, and other producers, people who actually know who she is, offering to lend their advice to the advancement of her newly started record label. She's clutching her vodka and Redbull tightly in hand, smiling through bared teeth.

There's a difference between admiration from fans, which she craves, and the absolute feeding frenzy that ensues when people realize just how much money you could make them, which she detests. At almost every show, club appearance, or concert, there's a deluge of people who have taken a sudden and very greedy interest in her; there's hardly anyone who can offer what she seeks- good collaboration, or in the interest of her new label, fresh talent.

Teeth still bared in a pained smile, Beca takes a large swig from her drink and tries to focus on what the man in front of her, Mark Seward, of some-gigantic-label, is saying.

"Look, Becky," he implores, causing her to roll her eyes at the misnomer. "All we're offering is some money to pull your first big- hell, even mediocre- talent, give us our cut when you see a return-"

"Mark, I've told you guys I'm _not_ interested." She retorts, working hard to keep her tone polite. As the bartender passes she signals for another drink, having finished her first in two gulps. This was going to be a long night if she couldn't manage to shake this asshole.

"Becky," he says patronizingly, flashes her a large grin. "You're a decent DJ, but what the fuck do you know about running a label? No one thinks you know enough about the industry to produce and market stuff. We're the only people interested right now." Fuming and having been granted her second drink, Beca takes a long sip, eyeing Mark over the rim of the glass.

"Have you ever noticed I've only mixed with one or two of the artists on your label? It's because they're relatively unscathed by your idea of artistic direction, the rest fucking blow, it's not like you've got some big secret to success," Mark's jaw is practically on the floor with her last remark. "Look man, I've tried to be cool before, but you know how not interested I am. You can't keep stalking me to shows trying to throw money at me, it's fucking weird." Beca growls, shaking her head when she sees how red his face has gotten. Sliding off the barstool she tilts her glass in his direction, just managing to hear his snarled insult of "fucking bitch" as she makes her way to a more amicable location.

She's just started on her third vodka and Redbull and looking around for her best friend turned business partner, Jesse, or even her assistant, when she feels a tap on her shoulder. Bracing herself, she turns around, only to be greeted by a rather well endowed chest. Groaning in annoyance, she directs her gaze upwards, her suspicions confirmed when she makes eye contact with the actress Tiffany Webber, an old friend with benefits that just won't go away.

"Becky!" She squeals, dragging the shorter girl up into a hug. Beca clutches for her drink to keep it from spilling, halfheartedly returning the hug as she begins to grope for her phone in the pocket of her blazer. This shit needs to stop- now.

"Oh my god, Tiffany, who would've thought!" Beca simpers, the sarcastic nature of her tone completely lost on the other girl. She quickly types an SOS group message to Jesse, her assistant, and her driver, before slipping her phone back into the pocket of her blazer.

"I know right, this is like, one of my absolute favorite clubs! I didn't expect you to be performing!" Tiffany enthuses, clutching onto Beca's arm as if she's just made some hilarious joke. Beca quickly downs her drink, hastily ordering another- heavy on the vodka this time. "Oh! Is that a cherrybomb? Those are your favorite, aren't they Becky?" The DJ laughs darkly to herself, for a split second making a face as if she might cry, before laughing again, in earnest, at her childishness. She attempts to pry herself away from Tiffany, who's now ordering the same drink.

"So, Tiffany, aren't you supposed to be shooting in, I dunno, Texas?" Beca asks suspiciously. Tiffany, who is currently mid-drink, snorts rather unattractively, and then wipes at her mouth before answering.

"No silly, New Mexico! But I've been down there so long, I had to get back to a good club scene," she sighs, gesturing to the surrounding area. Beca nods in mock sympathy, taking a sip of the predominately vodka beverage. She knows full well that Tiffany only left two weeks ago. "Plus, when I heard you'd come out of hiding, I couldn't help but stop by and see how you were doing!" She cries, poking Beca in the side with a rather sharp nail, causing Beca to simultaneously sneer- at the comment- and wince – at the jab. Across the bar, she catches the eye of a tall, familiar looking blonde woman.

"I haven't been hiding, I've been setting up my label..." Beca retorted, trailing off when she noticed the blonde had begun walking towards her. The other woman didn't seem to be too happy about approaching her, which is when it clicks.

Posen. Aubrey Posen. She'd only graduated from college two years ago with a degree in music and business management, from a top ranking music school, no less. And while she had Beca had already had their share of conflict, Beca admired her balls, and her intelligence. She breathed a sigh of relief as Aubrey drew even with her, eyeing Tiffany up and down.

"If you're not busy, Mitchell, I'd like a quick word." She quipped, glowering at Beca before taking a sip of whatever it was she'd chosen to imbibe in that night.

"Definitely not busy." Beca said hastily, gesturing for Aubrey to follow her away from the bar. Tiffany pouted and grabbed for Beca's arm in protest.

"Keep it in your pants, Webber, I'm not trying to fuck your girlfriend." Aubrey snarled, wrenching the girl's hand off of the DJ.

"I hate you, Aubrey, did you know that?" Tiffany replied lamely, flouncing into the bar stool that had been previously occupied by Beca. She pouted as the two turned to leave. Aubrey rolled her eyes and began to lead Beca away. Once they had achieved a respectable distance from the bar, Beca spoke up.

"She's not my girlfriend, she's practically stalking me." Beca grimaced, earning a particularly poisonous glare from the blonde. "But I can see you mean business, so… what's up?"

"Look, after what happened last year, I really don't want to be asking you any favors…" Aubrey began, scrutinizing Beca's expression as she went. "But I have someone that I think would be perfect for your new label. She's got some experience in the industry and she's looking for a totally different direction." Aubrey quickly produced a flash drive from her bag, holding it at Beca's eye level, who, unsurprisingly, made no move to grab it.

"If she has experience then why doesn't she keep on that track, I'm sure she could figure out how to swing it." Beca hesitated. It was apparent Aubrey was withholding information, which had piqued her interest.

"She would, but she's not allowed to. The label she's currently signed with is very strict about her maintaining the image they've created for her and she wants out."

"So why not quit?" Beca challenged.

"You and I both know it's not that simple," Aubrey muttered with an eye roll. "I'm not going to tell you who it is, but listen to this and get back to me."

"You've got to do a better job selling me on this, Posen. Why are you so interested in _giving _me talent, last year you were all about stealing it from me." Beca sneered, watching a flush rise in Aubrey's cheeks.

"Look, I realize things got kind of dirty, but this girl is my best friend and she's been put through her share of suffering, and now it's by her current label. And I mean _extreme_ suffering, that's what this music is about. You need something unique, something that can change lives, and someone with a hell of a lot of talent if you want to get this thing off the ground. This is exactly what you need."

Beca wracked her brain, doubting very much that Aubrey could have actual friends. Looking at the taller woman, though, Beca noted a certain glossiness to her eyes, and a fierce blend of protectiveness and determination.

"Just tell me who it is." Beca implored, but despite her curiosity, she knew she would be listening to whatever was on that drive by the end of the night. Aubrey had a certain knack for sniffing out excellence. Aubrey gave her a crooked smile, knowing she had her hooked.

"Just give me a buzz when you're done with it, Mitchell," Aubrey grinned, pressing the flash drive into the palm of the DJ's hand. Looking over Beca's shoulder, she smiled a little wider. "Looks like your friend Jesse is here to save you from me." Beca whipped around, watching as Jesse tried to pry Tiffany off of him so he could make his way over to her.

"Actually I texted him to rescue me from _her_," Beca laughed. "But either works."

"Whatever, have a good night Becky." Aubrey retorted, using the nickname she knows the DJ so detests.

Beca watches her retreating form, slightly irritated when she notices Jesse pleasantly smile at the blonde and wish her a good night. Gesturing for him to hurry, she shoved the drive into her pocket.

"Have a good night with Mark and Tiffany, Becky?" he asked, ruffling her hair as soon as reached her. She laughed and pushed him, feeling at ease for the first time since finishing her set. She dramatically swallowed the rest of her drink and set the glass down on a nearby table before linking arms with her best friend.

"Jesse, please, let's get the fuck out of here."

**XXX**

"What did Aubrey want?" Jesse asked once they were safely ensconced in the back of her large SUV.

"To gloat and harass me about shit," Beca shrugged, absentmindedly fingering the drive in her pocket. "Oh, and by the way, maybe don't flirt with our arch nemesis next time, yeah?" she teased, quirking an eyebrow at him. Jesse immediately blushed, but smiled.

"She's not all bad and you know it. She knows what she's doing."

"Yeah, I hope so." Beca replied absently, earning a quizzical look at Jesse, who just shrugged when he realized his sometimes mysterious friend didn't plan on elaborating.

**XXX**

**Any thoughts are much appreciated! **


	2. Brave

_**"Don't run, stop holding your tongue,  
Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live,  
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in,  
Show me how big your brave is"**_

_**- "Brave" by Sara Bareilles**_

**XXX**

Upon arriving home, Aubrey immediately tore off her impressively high heels and tossed them on the growing pile of shoes by the door, flinching as they thunked to the floor. She still hadn't quite re-acclimated herself to having a roommate, and with silence in mind, she grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and tiptoed her way to the living room before depositing herself unceremoniously on the couch.

"Good evening, Aubrey." Came a voice from the opposite end of the sectional sofa. Aubrey bit back a scream and cocked back the arm with the unopened beer and prepared to launch it just as a lamp flicked on. She immediately lowered her impromptu weapon.

"CHLOE! What the fuck?!" she screeched, clutching a hand to her heart. The girl in question was currently doubled over with laughter. "Tell me you weren't sitting here in the dark waiting to do that." Aubrey growled, tossing a pillow in the direction of her friend. After a moment, Chloe composed herself, wiping at the tears of mirth that had pooled in her eyes.

"No," she gasped, still fully intent on laughing. "I heard you unlocking the door and turned off the lamp, it seemed like the only rational thing to do." Chloe was beaming, causing Aubrey to roll her eyes before breaking into a smile of her own. She appraised her friend briefly. Chloe looked exhausted and somewhat weary, but significantly more cheerful than Aubrey had seen her in the past year and a half.

"I thought you said you were going to try to get some sleep tonight, Chlo." Aubrey remarked, causing Chloe to purposefully avoid her gaze and defensively hold up a notebook.

"Inspiration struck," she chirped before biting her lip thoughtfully. "And then coffee struck around eleven. I should've just gone out with you." She sighed, shifting so she could flop dramatically backwards, sprawling out on her side of the couch. Aubrey shook her head, smiling at the girl, who had, rather intensely, begun to examine the tips of her recently returned ginger hair. Chloe had hated being blonde, claiming it lacked character, but like, totally no offense to Aubrey.

"Good thing you didn't, I ran into Mitchell." She grumbled, opening her beer with an excessively aggressive flourish. At this, Chloe quit contemplating her hair and sat bolt upright, clutching the sofa tightly.

"And?" she breathed. Aubrey took a long pull from the bottle, staring blankly at the redhead.

"Well, she was a pain in my ass, as usual…" the blonde replied, giving no hint of intending to explain herself further.

"Aubrey!" Chloe squeaked, looking like she might pitch forward off of the couch. Aubrey laughed.

"She was totally into it, she didn't say it, but she's definitely dying to hear whatever this mystery girl has to offer. She's an insomniac, so she'll probably end up texting me at some ungodly hour, like she always does when she has an epiphany." Chloe paled considerably.

"Oh my god, Aubs, what if she hates it. She's going to hate it," Chloe stated decisively, standing up to pace the living room. "It's totally not her style, and when she finds out it's me… You know she hates anyone who's ever even considered signing with Mark, right? He's right, you know, outside of the image he's created for me I can't get any interest-"

"Chloe!" Aubrey barked, jerking her friend from her ramblings. "Don't second guess this, it's incredible. This stuff comes from a very real place, and Mitchell knows greatness when she hears it. She does amazing things with every project she touches, and when someone who's genuinely talented crosses paths with hers it's phenomenal. She'll understand what you want, okay?"

"Yeah…" Chloe muttered, taking a very deep breath to calm herself. "But what about-"

"And I'll take care of Mark and all those fuckers," Aubrey insisted, knowing the list of fears Chloe was going to run through by heart. Chloe anxiously tugged at the sleeves of her cardigan, bouncing from foot to foot as she contemplated what to say next, but before she could continue, Aubrey spoke again. "Besides, think of the reason you wanted to do this in the first place."

After a moment, Chloe seemed to find her voice, though she sounded deflated.

"So I can help stop someone from feeling like they're crazy… So someone knows they're not alone, I guess." Chloe crossed her arms across her chest, squeezing herself tightly. Aubrey bit the inside of her cheek, a practiced reaction to quell the feeling that she might cry. She hated to see any hint pain in Chloe's normally bright, hopeful eyes. It made her heart ache.

"Chlo, you're not crazy," she fretted, gesturing for the redhead to sit next to her on the couch. A very much subdued Chloe acquiesced, settling close to the blonde to rest her head on her shoulder. Aubrey hugged her tightly around the shoulders. "You're in a position to help a lot of people, and you're willing to do it, which is pretty incredible. You're incredible."

"Thanks, Aubs," Chloe sniffled after a long moment. "And I'm sorry I was such a colossal bitch with everything that happened..." She added after an even longer pause. Aubrey pressed a kiss against her hairline, picking up the television remote.

"And you know how sorry I am. We both fumbled that situation pretty badly, but you've been my best friend for as long as I can remember," Aubrey murmured before clearing her throat and changing the topic. "Want to pick a movie? I'm not feeling very tired, either."

Chloe accepted the remote and flicked the television on, pulling up the movie menu.

Aubrey bit back a sigh, not wanting to distress the redhead and further. Covertly, she wiped away the tears that threatened to brim over. It was a conversation they'd had an infinite number of times in the month they'd been reunited, but the reminder of their brief falling out didn't hurt any less.

Even though Chloe had forgiven her for the events of the past year and a half, she knew she would never forgive herself. Not a day went by that she didn't feel literally sick with guilt over abandoning her friend when she had needed her the most, and all over a case of inflated ego.

**XXX**

With Jesse's help, Beca lugged all of her equipment into her spacious apartment, not trusting anyone else to put it away in the careful order she enjoyed to store it in. Once they were done, she pulled two beers from her fridge, tossing one at Jesse as he placed himself in his usual spot on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table.

"Swanson," she barked loudly, startling him out of his ritual of selecting the perfect movie to end the evening. "Get your god damn shoes off my table." Jesse rolled his eyes and threw up a mock salute.

"It's our table now, Becky," he laughed, alluding to their recently established roommate status while simultaneously kicking off the offending sneakers. He immediately returned his feet to their original position. "Movie?"

"After all these years you'd think you'd learn… I'm sure you've made me watch everything that's decent on there," she groused as she began retreating back towards her bedroom. "I have some work to do. And, by the way, _I _bought that table when I first moved to LA, you little shit." She could practically hear the roll of his eyes this time, but she knew he understood.

She opened her beer, tossing the cap onto her cluttered nightstand. She placed the bottle gingerly on the edge, just where it would be in reach once she was settled in with her laptop. She tossed her phone, which had been buzzing impatiently at random intervals for the last several minutes, onto the bed next to her computer, and then crossed to her closet, discarding her jeans, jacket, and shirt as she went.

She impatiently yanked a sweater off of its hanger, before taking a breath and easing it over her head with slightly more civility. She was thoroughly eager to listen to what Aubrey had given her, though was loathe to admit it, and seemed to be intentionally putting off hearing the music. She scraped her hair back into a ponytail before making her way back towards the bed, stopping to fish the flash drive out of the pocket of her discarded blazer.

Once seated on her bed she stretched leisurely before returning to a cross-legged position, checking her phone for the cause of the previous commotion. She sighed when noted that she had received no less than forty emails from those who had managed, at some point, to snag her personal address. She laughed to herself when she noticed Mark Seward's address amongst what she had received.

Oh, forty emails, a dozen text messages, the most notable from Tiffany, and two missed calls from numbers she didn't recognize. Glancing at the ominous, black flash drive she began clearing her inboxes with serious deliberation. This task accomplished, with a reminder to have assistant set up a new email account, she booted up her computer.

Upon cavalierly plugging in her gift from Aubrey she discovered a selection of six different Mp3 files, as well as a word document labeled "READ BEFORE LISTENING - AUBREY." Setting feelings of rebelliousness towards the blonde woman aside, Beca obliged and opened the document.

_Mitchell-_

_ Listen objectively. No one's heard anything this incredible in potentially mainstream music in a long time. Let me know what you think as soon as you're done. And if you figure out who this is before we get a chance to talk- don't you dare write her off._

_ - Aubrey Posen_

Beca couldn't help but chuckle to herself, grabbing for her beer and taking a few sips before contemplating which track to play first. Eventually she selected the one located directly next to Aubrey's cryptic and commanding note, leaning back against her pillows as she waited for the music to begin.

A piano began to play, single notes at first, followed by slightly dissonant chords. Shortly after, an oddly familiar, but extremely pleasant, voice joined.

Beca shook her head, if she couldn't immediately place the voice she was going to force herself to remain objective, to not try and place it.

She held her breath through the entirety of the song- it's melody was exquisitely haunting, the singing was gorgeous, the piano playing was deft, and the lyrics were so incredibly beautiful, and filled with a certain type of pain.

Fully intending to continue listening once she texted Aubrey, Beca laughed aloud in disbelief.

"God damn, Posen." She whistled to herself. Aubrey and the mystery girl had her hooked with one acoustic piano song, probably recorded in someone's living room with GarageBand. She grabbed her phone and hammered out a quick message to Aubrey, immaturely hoping the blonde would be irritated if the late night message woke her.

Dragging the entire collection of files to her iTunes library, Beca hastily named the album "Mystery Girl," and settled back into her pillows to listen to the remaining five songs.

**XXX**

Thirty minutes into their viewing of _Silver Linings Playbook_, which Chloe had demanded they watch for the third time, Aubrey felt her phone buzz. Retrieving it from under Chloe, who scowled at the interruption, Aubrey smugly grinned as she noted who the message was from.

_Posen- one song into what you gave me. I want her. Both of you come by my place tomorrow morning._

Her smug grin turned into one of genuine happiness as she shoved the phone in front of Chloe's face. After registering exactly what Aubrey wanted, and what was displayed on the screen, Chloe laughed giddily and threw her arms around her best friend's neck.

"Thank you, Aubs."

**XXX**

**Let me know what you guys think!  
And thanks so much to the response I've already gotten, glad you like it so far!**


	3. Hercules

**_"I've lost a grip on where I started from,_**

**_I wish I'd thought ahead and left a few crumbs,_**

**_I'm on the hunt for who I've not yet become,_**

**_But I'd settle for little equilibrium."_**

**_- "Hercules" by Sara Bareilles_**

**XXX**

**"**Up and at 'em, Mitchell!" came a loud shout, followed by a flood of heinously bright sunshine.

Beca groaned and cursed loudly. Fucking Posen. It felt like she had just gotten to sleep a few minute ago, this had to be a nightmare. She clawed for her pillows and buried her head underneath them to avoid the onslaught of light that Aubrey had unleashed.

"I won't hesitate to physically _drag_ you out of bed." Aubrey threatened from somewhere near Beca's feet. Beca searched around in the pile of pillows for her cellphone, checking the time once she found the object. It was just after eight in the morning. She growled into the mattress. Just as she felt a suspicion that Aubrey was reaching for her ankles to make good on her threat, another voice sounded from the door.

"Oh, come on Aubs, give her a second," the voice laughed. Beca's mind clicked into place, immediately shaking itself of sleepiness. The girl from the songs, that's why Aubrey was here so early. She sat bolt upright and was greeted by the sight of an incredibly beautiful, redheaded girl. After a moment, she realized she recognized this face. It was that girl from Mark's label. Beca hadn't been lying when she said she'd only used two of his artists for her mixes, Chloe Beale had been one of them, though the DJ never had the privilege of meeting the girl personally.

That was all Mark's doing.

Beca had caused the other artist to walk away from his label once he saw the potential outside of Seward Industries. He had made sure to never give Chloe the chance to meet the DJ who had done such an incredible remix of the singer's best song.

Beca had only ever used three of Chloe's songs, ones from the beginning of her career. From when Chloe had still been allowed to write her own music, the brunette assumed, after hearing what Aubrey had given her on the thumb drive the night before. Everything after those first couple songs was mindless, standard pop drivel, and after Beca's listening experience from the previous night, she had found a new reason to hate Mark Seward. It was his loss, though. The music industry had been robbed of some serious talent and Beca was eager to right that wrong.

"You? You're the girl?" Beca asked incredulously, ripping her stare from the redhead to shoot Aubrey an expression of absolute befuddlement. T

The blonde shrugged, taking a sip of her Starbucks coffee. The brunette squinted at Chloe, who was nervously smiling and clutching two additional cups of coffee.

"Aren't you a blonde?" Beca asked lamely.

"Nope, I figured I'd go back to wearing my soullessness on my sleeve!" Chloe chirped brightly. Aubrey snorted and rolled her eyes at the ginger joke.

Beca laughed in earnest, scraping a hand nervously through her hair. _Gorgeous and funny, _Beca thought to herself, smiling stupidly at the girl. Chloe grinned back, then remembered she really only needed one of the coffees she was currently holding. "Here! This is from me," she exclaimed, holding the cup on the right out to Beca. "As a thank you for listening to my stuff…"

Beca could see genuine appreciation in Chloe's eyes as she accepted the coffee, a relieved smile tugged at the redhead's lips. Chloe seemed to shake herself of the seriousness that settled across her features. "And I figured I should, since Aubs seems so intent upon torturing you." She added with a wink. Beca felt herself blush furiously. She ran a hand through her hair again, hoping to hide the smile that erupted on her face.

**XXX**

After all that Mark had said about Beca, Chloe definitely hadn't expected her to be this gorgeous, even tousle-haired in sleeping attire.

"Well, I suppose it's time we were formally introduced," Chloe stated with mock seriousness, stretching out her free hand. Beca clambered out of her bed and eagerly obliged the handshake, the redhead grinned when she noticed she'd made the other girl blush. "I'm Chloe Beale."

"I'm Beca… Beca Mitchell, it's really nice meet you, finally." The brunette replied, the honesty in her tone taking Chloe by surprise. Chloe knew the brunette liked what Aubrey had cajoled her into recording, but she also knew that Beca also generally hated anything put out by Mark's label, calling it dangerously insipid.

"Maybe Beca Mitchell would like to put some pants on?" Aubrey snickered, appraising the situation thoughtfully.

"Oh, Jesus Christ!" was all the brunette replied, tearing her hand out of Chloe's grasp to dive for a chest of drawers, where she hastily donned a pair of shorts. Chloe didn't exactly to feel inclined to look away.

_She's really fucking cute_, Chloe surmised, taking a pensive sip of her coffee.

**XXX**

Once fully clothed, Beca led the trio down to the basement of her and Jesse's townhouse apartment, smiling with pride as she flicked on the lights to illuminate the control room of their newly constructed studio. She swore she saw Aubrey nod in approval and when the lights for the live room flickered on, Chloe looked like she might literally begin to drool.

Beca had been in charge of acquiring all the best recording equipment. Jesse's pride and joy of the project, though, was a large, beautiful grand piano. It seemed to be the object of Chloe's adoration.

"I guess our first step can be talking about what we all want out of this," Beca suggested, shrugging her shoulders at Aubrey, who nodded in reply. Beca seated herself in front of the mixing board, gesturing for the other two to do the same on the couch along the back wall. She laughed to herself when she noticed Aubrey having to drag Chloe to the couch by the arm to keep her from running to the piano in the next room.

"Who wants to go first?" Beca asked, reluctant to do so herself. She didn't want to lay all her cards out on the table. Aubrey seemed to be taking the same approach. Beca looked between the two girls, frowning slightly when her gaze settled on the redhead. Chloe's bubbly demeanor from earlier had changed completely at the first mention of talking business. She seemed nervous and totally unsure, pulling anxiously at the sleeves of her long, grey sweater.

"What _I _want out of this, from a manager's perspective, is for Chloe to have a place where she can collaborate with a producer, not be controlled by one," Aubrey finally began, noticing the furtive glances Chloe kept directing towards her. "I want someone who can get her music out there, to as broad of an audience as possible, and I want someone who knows what they're doing. The material for something great is already there, and you can take it to the next step," Aubrey seemed to struggle with what to say next, not knowing if it was the most professional thing to add. After a moment, a look of sheer anger crossed her face. "To be plain, we need to show the world that Mark Seward's idea of what beauty and talent are is totally convoluted, and completely wrong. Chloe doesn't need put in a mold. By doing exactly that, Seward hijacked her career and almost ruined her life."

Beca raised an eyebrow at Aubrey's biting tone. This impassioned approach was not one Aubrey would have used with any other producer, Beca knew that, but despite their differences, she and the blonde weren't so different. And Aubrey knew her less than traditional speech was enough to ensure Beca was totally on board.

"I get the controlling part, he keeps trying to bully me into letting him buy part ownership of my label," Beca snarled, her distaste evident. Though this was a rant she had gone on countless times, she took a deep breath in order to stop herself from railing against Seward. This time could be used much more productively. "And what the hell does she mean he almost ruined your life, Chloe?" she asked, softening her scowl as she looked to the redhead.

Chloe's face grew incredibly red under Beca's stare, her desire to dissolve into the couch written plainly on her face. Watching the suddenly anguished girl on her couch struggle with her words, Beca felt her fury towards Mark grow by the second. Eventually, Chloe appeared to find a way to reply diplomatically.

"Mark and I had some serious disagreements about the direction of my career," Chloe sighed. "I, uh, took matters into my own hands, and he's backed off for the time being." A dark smirk crossed her delicate features. Aubrey paled palpably at the statement, giving her friend a look of incredulity.

"Yes," Aubrey blurted, speaking suddenly in order to delay any further questions Beca might have. "And she needs to move forward in the direction she wants, quickly."

The way they were talking made Chloe sound like a ticking time bomb, Beca thought. She furrowed her brow. There was something very cloak and dagger about this entire situation.

"Why haven't you put out any music recently?" Beca asked finally. Though she had only made use of those three songs of Chloe's, she'd distantly kept tabs on the singer's big releases, hoping for more of what had first piqued her interest. Aubrey and Chloe both stared at her innocently. "No, seriously," Beca intoned, the extreme length of time since Chloe's last single registering. "Mark likes you guys to drop something every sixty to ninety days for the sake of relevance, right? And it's been what, like three months? Where the hell did you go, dude?"

"It's been four, actually." Chloe muttered, showing no sign of elaborating. The redhead was now sitting with one leg hugged to her chest defensively, her gaze focused on the floor. Beca felt uneasy and though she had an endless number of questions for Chloe, she redirected her focus. Beca felt bizarrely guilty that her onslaught had literally caused the other girl to visibly display a desire to withdraw from the conversation. That and Aubrey looked ready to lunge at her.

"Well, if we decide to work together, I can promise your experience with me will be much more positive," Beca promised, smiling encouragingly at Chloe. "With what you've given me so far, we stand a chance to put out a pretty kick ass album together. Just tell me what _you_ want out of this."

**XXX**

Chloe looked at the DJ, her tense, worried expression disappearing as soon as she saw Beca's smile. It felt nice to have two people in her corner. Any time she had bothered to lodge a complaint against Mark she had been met with harsh criticisms of her "ungrateful" attitude.

Despite all Mark had done to force his outright dislike of Beca on Chloe, there was something so grounded and comforting about the brunette. Her unwavering confidence was entrancing.

Chloe visibly shook herself of her sudden uncertainty, smiling timidly at Aubrey and Beca.

"I want to make up for what I allowed myself to have taken from me," she began shakily, wrinkling her forehead as she contemplated her wording. "Before I signed with Mark, I was writing all my own songs. They all _really_ meant something and then I lost sight of that, then things got pretty dark. Then, they got much worse," Chloe breathed deeply, biting her lip in contemplation. "I just want to help people. The best thing I have to offer is my music."

Beca nodded slowly at her, then glanced to Aubrey. Though Chloe was unaware, Aubrey shook her head curtly and discreetly at Beca, effectively halting any requests for further explanation. By the time Chloe looked to her right to gauge the blonde's reaction, Aubrey was smiling politely back. Chloe flashed her a grin, then rolled her eyes. She knew when her best friend was up to something, but Aubrey's curbing of Beca's curiosity was much appreciated. The last thing she wanted to do upon meeting Beca was delve into the intricacies of how she'd essentially lost her mind.

"Well, awesome! It's settled!" Beca exclaimed finally, clapping her hands together in delight. "Before my electronic tendencies, there was one thing I really loved: awesome lady singers who can play the shit out of the piano. It only seems right that the first I find for my label fits that description. Speaking of which, would you mind giving me a live demonstration?" Beca suggested, gesturing towards the instrument in the other room. Chloe sprang out of her seat, downing the rest of her coffee enthusiastically.

_She just called you an 'awesome lady singer,' Beale,_ _and she actually wants you… she wants you to be the first person on her label,_ Chloe thought, feeling somewhat shocked.

So, when Chloe realized she had dragged Beca into a standing position in order to trap the girl in a rather enthusiastic hug, she was not at all surprised. Beca, on the other hand, seemed severely startled at the unaccustomed contact, although she did nothing to break the embrace.

"Jesus, Chlo, down girl!" Aubrey cackled from behind the redhead, taking utter delight in the expression of Beca's face.

"Chloe, I really want to hear something!" Beca laughed, when she registered how in awe Chloe seemed of her request. "No one's ever even played that thing, it only got here a week ago and I haven't had time."

"You play too?" Chloe demanded, eyes sparkling. Beca nodded slowly, unsure of Chloe's next move. "You're so awesome!" Chloe sighed and then thought for another moment. "Can you sing, then? I bet you can." The redhead insisted, holding Beca at arm's length as she waited for answer.

"Ah, no, that I cannot do." Beca snorted. Chloe narrowed her eyes at the DJ in disbelief, but when Beca showed no sign of revealing another talent, she redirected her energy.

"Wait, so basically I get to pop your label's cherry _and _your piano's?" Chloe squealed, the shock having fully worn off, causing Aubrey to cover her eyes in exasperation. Beca was readying herself to nod in response, having recovered from the high-pitched noise emitted by the redhead, when she was pulled into another tight hug. "This is going to be beautiful, guys! We're totally going out tonight to celebrate this!" Chloe proclaimed. She fixed each of the other girls with a stare, waiting for them both to nod in assent.

"I'm playing a show tonight, if you guys want to come." Beca shrugged. Chloe's smile broadened. Then, without warning, the redhead then promptly released a much-rumpled Beca, who fell back into her chair, and bounded into the live room.

** XXX **

Beca watched as Chloe hopped to the piano, running a hand reverently over the smooth, black finish. As the redhead busied herself with propping up the lid and adjusting the bench, Beca heard a slight sniffle behind her.

"Are you fucking crying, Posen?" she asked as she whipped around to face Aubrey. The blonde in question chuckled, fanning away the notion of tears.

"No, I'm not," she replied thickly, laughing again. "I just haven't seen Chlo invade a stranger's personal space like that in a long time."

"Wow, glad to see she's picked that back." Beca sneered, resisting the childish urge to stick her tongue out at Aubrey.

"Oh please, she does that shit to me all the time. Chloe's never been big on personal boundaries, it's nice to see her acting like her old self," Aubrey mused cryptically. "And it's not like you minded, I can see your toner from here."

"I'm won't even ask what a 'toner' is," the brunette frowned, eyeing Aubrey skeptically. " But I'm not going to ask you about whatever happened, because if it was my business you would've told me, but I do have two questions that I want answered," Beca probed, waiting for Aubrey's approval to continue. "Is she okay? Like, 'okay' okay? And exactly how much did she get Mark to 'back off?' I can't sign her if he still has her under contract."

"Well, obviously, Mitchell. Just leave the logistics to me," Aubrey hissed, a wicked smirk appearing. "And she's working on being okay," Aubrey added, her expression softening considerably. "A project like this is exactly what she needs, I just have to ask you to never push her to tell you anything."

Beca raised her hands defensively, assuring the blonde she had nothing to worry about before turning to face the live room again. Beca grinned when she saw that Chloe had made herself at home, her hands already dancing lightly across they keys. She turned on the mixing board and suddenly Chloe's pleasant voice filled the control room. While waiting for Beca and Aubrey to finish talking, the redhead had begun a rather upbeat version of "Titanium" on the piano, singing along merrily.

"Alright, David Guetta, do you have anything for me that didn't get onto that flash drive?" Beca asked through the speaker, causing Chloe to giggle at the moniker. The redhead nodded enthusiastically, flashing Beca a thumbs up.

As Chloe repositioned herself and took a steadying breath, Beca hit record on the display in front of her. If she had time later she would throw something together to show Chloe what she could offer.

"Ready?" Chloe called, making eye contact with Beca through the glass. For a moment Beca was struck by how odd it was that the other girl could look so eager, yet vulnerable. It was kind of breathtaking in how hopeful it was. Beca gave Chloe a thumbs up of her own, and with a flourish, the singer launched into a beautiful, up-tempo song.

And if Beca thought Chloe's palpable hope was breathtaking, she was not at all prepared for how easily she was robbed of air by watching the redhead sing. There was already no denying that Chloe was stunning, but seeing her raw talent was exquisite.

_You are in so much trouble, Mitchell_, Beca surmised before leaning back in her chair, closing her eyes to listen as closely as possible.

**XXX**

******A huge thanks to my lovely, new beta, JustAnother13Lover! She did a massive bit of work helping me get this chapter polished.**

**Please let me know what you guys think! And thanks for reading!**


	4. Chasing the Sun

"_**You said, remember that life is,**_

_**Not meant to be wasted,**_

_**We can always be chasing the sun!**_

_**So fill up your lungs and just run,**_

_**But always be chasing the sun!"**_

_**- "Chasing the Sun" by Sara Bareilles**_

With solidified plans to meet later in the evening for Beca's show, Aubrey and Chloe bid the DJ farewell. Aubrey had been forced to drag Chloe from the entryway of Beca's apartment and Jesse had been forced to do the same to Beca, who he had to remind several times about an important meeting she needed to finish preparing for. Chloe clutched tightly to her best friend's hand as the pair made their way to Aubrey's car, chattering incessantly about the morning's developments. There was a time when Chloe's early morning enthusiasm might have grated on the blonde's nerves, but that time was long gone and Aubrey couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as she freed her hand to unlock her car. Chloe bounded around to the passenger side, making it into the vehicle before Aubrey even had a chance to open the driver's side door. The moment Aubrey had herself buckled in, Chloe unleashed all the energy she had pent up in thirty seconds it had taken the blonde to join her in the vehicle, rounding on Aubrey to question her.

"Okay, so were you like, not going to warn me about how pretty Beca is? The way Mark talks you'd think she's the devil incarnate!" Chloe huffed, crossing her arms at Aubrey, who just sniggered. "What's up with your weird feud with her, anyway? You guys seem like you should get along!" Chloe insisted, but the blonde refused to reply for dramatic effect, instead focusing on pulling out of her parking spot and heading towards the location of Chloe's appointment. Eventually, Chloe exhaled dramatically, sinking back into her seat, arms still petulantly crossed. Aubrey cast her a smirk.

"I'm not sure Beca isn't some sort of hell-spawn, Chlo," the blonde deadpanned, choosing to continue before Chloe could get a word in. "In all seriousness, I respect her, but we got off on the wrong foot. You know how I am with first impressions, now ninety-nine percent of what she does irritates the hell out of me. It's not like she's my biggest fan, either."

Chloe was scowling pensively at Aubrey, but seemed reasonably satisfied with her friend's answer. For the entire duration of the morning, Aubrey and Beca had bantered, at times less than amicably, and now the redhead was very curious as to why this was. Both were equally passionate about their lines of work and both were equally as knowledgeable about their sides of the business, though, she supposed, that could have been a source for animosity, just as much as it could be the source for friendship.

Chloe sat in silence for a moment longer, her mind working in overdrive as she thought over her extremely productive morning. She had spent the entire drive to Beca's mentally preparing herself to meet the notoriously intimidating DJ, only to have her expectations totally flipped. Chloe had been prepared for Beca to want to take complete control over the development of the album the redhead hoped to release, but instead, the DJ had continuously reassured and complimented Chloe. Beca wanted Chloe's input and she respected the work the singer had already done. The brunette had asked Chloe to walk her through the intended direction and overall tone of the project, only offering suggestions when Chloe specifically requested them. Once it became clear that Beca was actively interested in what Chloe wanted, not what she _thought_ the redhead should want, Chloe felt as if an impossibly heavy weight had been lifted.

Slowly, day by day, Chloe was finally regaining control of her life. She couldn't remember the last time she was this happy.

Speaking of which…

"Oh, damn it!" Chloe blurted out of nowhere, finally noticing that Aubrey had been driving the familiar route to the redhead's psychologist's office. "Do I _have_ to go?" Chloe whined, feeling instantly nauseated by the idea of having to face Doctor Cooper. She began to pout. Chloe positively dreaded these appointments. They had a special talent for plunging her into an absolutely foul mood, there was nothing that could knock the wind out of her sails quite like drumming up what had caused her to require a psychologist's care in the first place.

Noticing the familiar down turn in Chloe's mood, Aubrey reached across the car to ruffle her friend's hair. Chloe tried her best to look indignant, but succeeded only in looking miserable. It was Aubrey's turn to frown when Chloe sighed dejectedly as the blonde parked the car in front of the building. Aubrey hated seeing Chloe like this- drained of life and humor. The emptiness in Chloe's current expression was eerily reminiscent of the Chloe she'd encountered in the weeks immediately following the redhead's attempted suicide. Thinking of it made Aubrey feel like someone was twisting the dullest, rustiest blade imaginable into her stomach.

"It'll be alright, Chlo," Aubrey breathed, making a rare initiation of contact as she grabbed her friend's hand to reassure her. "Think about how well this morning went!" the blonde insisted, a huge weight lifting off her chest when she saw the familiar, fiery spark return to Chloe's eyes. "Plus, we're going out tonight!" Aubrey added conspiratorially, making Chloe smirk.

"Alright, alright," Chloe agreed after a moment, her learned dread for her weekly appointments alleviated as she allowed the buoyancy she'd felt upon leaving Beca's to return. "Just text me when you're done meeting with Mark, I'll be at the gym." Chloe remarked, opening the passenger side door. She quickly retrieved her gym bag from behind her seat and slammed the door shut, throwing Aubrey a cavalier salute. The blonde shook her head and blew her friend a sarcastic kiss before pulling away.

In the rearview mirror, Aubrey watched Chloe take a deep breath to steel herself, looking up at the office building's façade with trepidation.

As Chloe breathed in she reminded herself to focus on all the good her morning had brought, and what the rest of her day promised. _Think of Aubrey, think of Adam, _Chloe thought to herself, as she did every time she needed positivity to ward off sadness. _Think of your music, think of Beca_, she added to herself after a moment. A grin spread across her face as she began to make her way into the building, bolstered by her revised personal mantra for happiness.

_Aubrey. Adam. Music. Beca._

**XXX**

Jesse was mercilessly teasing Beca from his spot in the driver's seat, having fallen into a habit of volunteering to drive ever since it had become clear that Beca had no intention of selling her old, beat up Prius that she'd owned since high school. He was baffled as to why she had yet to invest in a new car, or a driver, as her explosive success could afford her either option, but Beca was adamant about keeping around the beat up, green vehicle for as long as she possibly could.

Jesse ritualistically teased Beca, to keep her grounded, he claimed, but the DJ could throw it back equally as hard. Banter was a strong foundation for their friendship. Today, he was going on and on about how she had behaved when Chloe was leaving, taking it upon himself to make joking assumptions about the impression the redhead must have made on her to have the DJ looking like "someone had stolen her favorite toy."

At this comment, since they were stopped at a red light, Beca reached across the middle console to hit Jesse on the back of the head. He reached up to grab where he'd just been struck, but burst out laughing nonetheless.

"I'm sorry, Beca, it was just so adorable," Jesse snorted, easily deflecting a second attack the DJ tried to inflict. "I've just never seen someone blow apart your carefully crafted nonchalance with such ease!"

"Oh, fuck off, Jesse!" Beca cried, gathering her belongings as her friend pulled into the parking lot of the office where she was meeting with Cynthia Rose, her manager and close friend of three years. "I'm heading to the gym after this since it shouldn't take too long, I'll see you once you're done with the big, bad director!" She added, jumping out of the car the second he had stopped, eager to avoid hearing more of his perspective about her morning with Chloe. Beca shut the door, turning to wave goodbye to Jesse, who had opted instead to make kissy-faces at her. She rolled her eyes and stuck up her middle finger, for good measure, before going inside the office to report her presence to Cynthia Rose's secretary.

Beca had only just sat down in the lobby when Cynthia Rose emerged from her office, beaming at the DJ.

"What the fuck is up, girl! I'm glad to see you!" Cynthia Rose enthused, throwing her arm around the girl's shoulders when she drew near. Beca laughed at her manager's joy, knowing how glad the other woman was to have the DJ back in her office. In order to finish setting up her label, Beca had taken a short, month long break on her music front, only returning to playing shows within the last week. While she had seen Cynthia Rose countless times in the capacity as a friend, the two hadn't had an actual meeting in quite some time.

** "**I'm glad to see you too, man," Beca replied, throwing herself on the couch in the manager's office before the other woman had a chance to do the same. She immediately laid back against the throw pillows and covered her eyes with her arm, she needed a nap at some point in the day, she was exhausted. Cynthia Rose scoffed and moved to her chair, leaning back and propping her feet up on the desk. "What'd you want to talk about?"

"Alright, there's a couple of things," the manager sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "There's a charity show coming up that's being hosted by Seward Industries and another label, they want you as one of the headliners," Cynthia Rose began, holding up her hand to stop Beca from inevitably interrupting. "And you already know Mark Seward is making is usual unveiling threats, so obviously you can say no if you're ready to lose the mask."

When Beca had first started as a DJ, she had only been seventeen. Her mother, a Broadway choreographer, had been adamant about her daughter at least attempting to attend college, effectively banning her from spending her time trying to break into the business. However, Beca had spent her senior year of high school, and subsequently the summer after, making a name for herself in increasingly prestigious clubs. Her mother's dancers and friends frequented most of the places Beca played, so she'd incorporated a silver and gold Venetian masquerade mask into her image as a way of keeping her mother from finding out what she was doing. People were enthralled by the mystery; so naturally, the mask had stuck, even after she'd become famous. She was even more adamant about keeping the mask around now, as Cynthia Rose had led a very uphill battle to, thankfully, keep Beca's real identity a secret from almost all of the public. People knew who she was, but they were more than happy to keep her secret in exchange for countless favors, like special appearances, early previews of music, or the chance to guarantee a feature from the DJ. It was just nice to be able to walk out of her house without being mauled by paparazzi, or walk around a crowd after a show without being hounded. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate her fans, she loved them, but large groups of people tended to freak her out.

"Damn, has anyone ever told you to lead off with the good news?" Beca growled, uncovering her eyes to glare at Cynthia Rose.

"It's your call," the woman shrugged, already knowing what Beca's answer was going to be. When Beca made no further protestations, the manager continued. " And I know you've been busy setting up your label, but did you get a chance to bring me anything new?" At this Beca smirked and sat up, fishing around in her bag for a flash drive she had loaded a dozen or so new mixes and songs onto that morning.

"Here," she said, tossing the drive to Cynthia Rose. "I'll probably have some new stuff after this weekend, too, inspiration struck this morning." Beca beamed, earning a raised eyebrow from her friend.

"Yeah? What brought that on?" Cynthia Rose questioned skeptically.

"Alright this is going to sound weird and obsessive, but this morning Posen brought over this girl that I'm going to officially sign once she gets out of her other contract. You should see her, dude, she's fucking gorgeous… And her voice…" Beca sighed, shrugging her shoulders in lieu of explaining herself further. She looked at Cynthia Rose, who wore an expression of complete shock. "I know, I know, it's a little weird." Beca added defensively, earning a laugh from the other woman.

"No, it's not weird, it's sweet," she began, laughing harder when Beca groaned. "Seriously, who is she? You've never been inspired by a girl before, so she must be pretty hot."

"I mean she's not just hot," Beca defended, causing Cynthia Rose to laugh again. "She's super... I don't know, magnetic. She's Chloe Beale." Beca finished lamely. Words aren't really her forte.

"Like, pop star Chloe Beale?" Cynthia Rose asked, seeming even more shocked than she did before. When Beca nods, the other woman whistles. "Yeah, she's a looker. Aubrey brought her over for you to sign? What about Seward?"

"That's the strange part, they said Mark almost ruined Chloe's life," Beca frowned, sighing after a moment. "I don't know, Aubrey was really weird about the whole thing. I know she's meeting with Mark today to get Chloe out of her contract, but to be honest I think she's literally going to murder him."

"I wouldn't put it past her, Aubrey's a bad bitch," Cynthia Rose mused, clearly appreciative of Aubrey's notoriously vicious attitude. "I know Chloe kind of disappeared, some people think she went to rehab, but that kind of thing _always_ goes public."

"Like I said, weird." Beca agreed.

**XXX**

Chloe was running on the treadmill at the gym, her scowl only slightly alleviated after three miles. It usually takes about six to get out of her post-appointment funk. She smiled slightly, though, when one of Beca's mixes was the next song to blare through her headphones.

When the artist in question exited the locker room, headed towards a personal trainer with a yoga mat tucked under her arm, Chloe panicked immediately, fumbling to switch the song, because how weird would that be if Beca heard her casually listening to her music?

_Pull it together, Beale, she's not a fucking vampire, she can't hear your music,_ Chloe scolded herself, cranking up the speed on the treadmill slightly.

Chloe contemplated moving to a different spot in the gym, fearing that Beca might catch sight of her exercise-reddened face clashing horribly with her hair.

She immediately changed her mind when the trainer and DJ began doing yoga and she caught sight of Beca's ass, continuing her run with a smirk on her face.

**XXX**

Beca supposed she was the only person who could leave a yoga session so sufficiently annoyed. She had only picked up the hobby at Jesse and Cynthia Rose's insistence, both claiming it would help alleviate her irritable attitude… it hadn't. Still, it was better than jogging. Beca hated cardio.

When she entered the locker room, it was thankfully empty, save for one other running shower. Grumbling to herself about how sore and sweaty she was, Beca grabbed her shower caddy and shower shoes, which she kept in a reserved locker at her gym, and headed for the last stall. As she went, she began to absentmindedly hum the tune of "Titanium" to herself; it had been stuck in her head ever since hearing Chloe sing it earlier that morning.

By the time she had stripped down and hung up her towel, setting the shower to a scorching temperature to alleviate her muscle pain, she was singing fairly audibly. The song and the memory it brought of the redhead and her piano playing helped to dissipate the annoyance her freakishly peppy yoga instructor had inflicted.

She stepped into the shower, singing in earnest, and was ready to stick her head under the stream of water when she heard a loud exclamation from behind her.

"You _can_ sing!" Came the enthusiastic cry. Beca hurriedly whipped around to face her assailant, fully prepared to beat off a rabid fan or gym dwelling vagrant. She was met with a pair of huge, blue eyes, which were widened with delight.

"Dude!" she squealed, yanking the shower curtain closed. The person on the other side, however, insistently flung it back open. Those eyes seemed awfully familiar.

"How high does your belt go?" her guest questioned, leaning across the stall to turn off the water. Red hair flashed across the DJ's vision. Chloe?

"I don't know! Oh my god!" Beca breathed, shrinking into the corner and trying to cover herself as much as humanly possible. She pointedly directed her gaze towards the ceiling immediately upon noticing how very naked Chloe was. The redhead in question, however, did not seem intent upon leaving, hands casually on her hips as if there was nothing unusual about the situation.

"Why did you tell me you couldn't sing!" Chloe demanded, taking a step closer to the brunette.

"I can't concentrate on anything you're saying until you cover your junk!" Beca snapped. Chloe laughed when she noticed the effort the DJ was making to not look at her, but didn't allow the discomfort of the DJ to dissuade her.

"For serious! I knew you could sing!" Chloe retorted smugly. Beca's mouth was twisting into a wry smile as she reached for the shower curtain in an attempt to recover some dignity. The DJ was fully unprepared for what Chloe was going to say next. "You just got even hotter!" the redhead admired, causing Beca to literally jump. Her face grew even redder, if at all possible, and she completely lost her grip on the shampoo bottle she had been using to try to cover herself. "Oops!" Chloe giggled as Beca turned towards the wall and pressed herself against it.

"Seriously? I am nude." Beca proclaimed, sending a withering glance over her shoulder. Her intimidation tactic failed miserably, and Chloe barreled on with her interrogation.

"You were singing 'Titanium!'" the redhead declared, feeling quite proud that she'd managed to get the song stuck in the DJ's head. At this, Beca smiled slightly, looking over her shoulder and making eye contact with Chloe for the first time since she'd entered the shower stall.

"I'm actually kind of surprised you know David Guetta." Beca said appreciatively, stopping her eyes just before they wandered to Chloe's chest.

"Have I been living under a rock?" Chloe replied sarcastically. Beca raised her eyebrows incredulously. "That song is my jam," Chloe stated. Beca's confusion must have been evident because before she could ask what the hell Chloe meant, the redhead spoke again. "My lady jam." Chloe added, her tone very conspiratorial. Beca's mind raced for an explanation of what that could possibly mean, hurriedly finding the blush-inducing answer.

"That's nice." The brunette muttered, turning to face the wall once more as a rush of dirty, but very appealing images involving the other girl popped into her head.

"It is," Chloe agreed. "That song really builds."

Beca turned around just in time to see Chloe wink at her.

"Gross." The DJ whispered lamely. She needed to get Chloe and her magnificent tits out of her shower, fast. No such luck, though.

"Will you sing it for me?"

"Dude, _no!_ Get out!" Beca exclaimed. This was getting unbearable.

"Not for that reason!" Chloe scolded, rolling her eyes at Beca, who looked ready to shove her out of the shower. "I'm not leaving here until you sing, so…" Beca shot her a dirty look over her shoulder, attempting once again to scare the redhead off. Instead, Chloe just sighed dramatically and adjusted her hands on her hips, looking towards the ceiling so she at l_east _wasn't staring at Beca's ass. She really wasn't going to leave, the brunette realized.

With a sigh, she turned around, fixing her eyes somewhere over Chloe's left shoulder. Chloe, however, took this opportunity to rake her eyes up and down the DJ's body, which the redhead instantly determined she greatly admired. Beca made nervous eye contact with the singer, before taking a calming breath.

Beca began to sing the chorus of "Titanium," her heart fluttering painfully when Chloe effortlessly joined in. They held eye contact the entire time, a smile, and then a grin, spreading across Beca's features. Chloe looked extremely pleased, both with how good they sounded together and how Beca actually seemed to be having fun.

Beca switched from startled to giddy beyond measure as the two finished the impromptu duet, finally allowing her gaze to travel over the redhead's body. Chloe, meanwhile, was smirking devilishly. She had gotten her way and Beca may or may not have been checking her out.

"Oh, yeah, I'm pretty confident about all this." She joked, gesturing to her breasts. Beca's eyes widened and she instantly looked away, but she regained her composure enough to respond somewhat wittily.

"You should be."

Chloe realized that the brunette was once again looking painfully awkward, so with a small exclamation of "oh," she turned around and grabbed Beca's towel for her, extending it like a peace offering towards the other girl. Beca grabbed for the towel and quickly held it over her chest before looking up at the shower head.

"I… still need to shower." Beca murmured.

"Oh, totes! I'll see you tonight then!" Chloe declared, leaning forward to give Beca a quick kiss on the cheek.

She then proceeded to bound away from Beca's shower, leaving behind a very confused DJ. Beca stood frozen, clutching her towel with one hand and her cheek with the other, until the sound of Chloe leaving the locker room jerked her back to reality.

**Alright, my beta isn't with me for the moment so this is rouuuuugh.**

**I apologize for the long delay, I had half of this done, but then I moved into my new apartment on my college's campus last week and repeated binge drinking took precedent. Because I'm responsible. And take really good care of myself.**

**Please share all thoughts, comments, and concerns!**


	5. Sweet As Whole

"_**Like most creatures down here on the ground,**_

_**I'm composed of the elements moving around,**_

_**But I grow and change and I shift and I switch,**_

_**And it turns out I'm actually kind of a bitch."**_

"_**Sweet As Whole" by Sara Bareilles**_

The clicking of Aubrey's heels resonated through the marbled floor of Seward Industries as she made her way through the atrium. She marched past the ground floor receptionist, a small, mousy woman who was terrified of her, and immediately went to the elevators, punching the button for Mark's level as soon as she entered. While she could count on gaining entrance to the building from the woman downstairs, Mark's slew of ever-changing secretaries were slightly trickier to deal with. None of them really stuck around long enough to learn they were supposed to be afraid of Aubrey and sometimes they got cocky, but resistance consistently proved to be futile.

Putting on the bitchiest expression she could muster, Aubrey gracefully exited the lift and strode towards the opaque glass doors, yanking them open with unnecessary violence. The sight that awaited her on the other side caused her to jolt to a stop.

"Amy! What the hell!" she hissed, eyes wide with shock. The blonde on the other side of the desk immediately slammed shut the laptop in front of her, meeting Aubrey's gaze with an expression of total guilt.

"It's not porn!" Amy defended loudly. Upon realizing who'd actually walked in, though, Amy emitted a high-pitched squeal and stood up to pull Aubrey towards her over the desk in an extremely tight hug. Aubrey wriggled to free herself, completely at a loss as to how and why Amy had apparently become Mark's newest secretary. "What's up, Aca-Nazi!" Amy bellowed, placing a sloppy kiss on the taller woman's cheek. Aubrey groaned and finally detached herself, wiping off imaginary slobber. The Aussie regarded her old captain with a blinding smile, not realizing Aubrey was awaiting an explanation regarding her newfound position.

"Amy, why do you work here?" Aubrey inquired, her tone low and dangerous. She wanted to avoid Mark coming out and finding Aubrey being subjected to Amy's usual obnoxiousness. Aubrey was more than mildly surprised to find the other woman in LA; she and Amy had kept in touch relatively well, exchanging phone calls and social media interactions every few weeks. The last Aubrey had heard, Amy had been finishing up her finals back at Barden. And, if Aubrey wasn't mistaken, the younger woman had been slated to start law school in Massachusetts with the coming school year, yet here she was in California.

"Uh, well, I was getting ready to start school, and I figured it was kind of boring, you know?" Amy answered finally, as if this was the most obvious explanation in the world. "I did a bunch of acid over the summer and I had this really awesome vision where I became a stand-up comedian, so here I am! I do shows at night, but I've got to pay the bills, right?" Amy continued, making Aubrey sigh loudly in exasperation. Of course a drug induced fever dream was good reasoning for Amy to drop out of a highly prestigious law program. Just before Aubrey could comment, Amy looked around and dropped into a conspiratorial tone. "Only, this Mark guy is kind of a dick. I don't take him very seriously, but he tried some really weird shit with the girl I'm replacing."

"Mark Seward is scum, Amy," Aubrey growled, hoping that the man in question could hear her from his office. "You shouldn't be working for him. He won't get you anywhere unless you fuck him." The taller blonde growled. Amy's eyes widened and she put up her hands defensively.

"Yeah, so I've heard, but I can't just resort to being a prostitute or something, I'm just going to work for him until I make it."

Aubrey bit her lip and narrowed her eyes at the Aussie, contemplating exactly how she was going to get her out of this situation. She had let go of her own assistant a few months ago, opting to slightly lessen her workload in favor of sticking by Chloe's side. Plus, she had been wary of any potential security breaches for her or the redhead. With Chloe's recovery though, she'd decided to get back in the swing of things within the next month, and with the redhead's new, very big project…

"Be my assistant!" Aubrey blurted as soon as the thought formed, not really giving the sentiment much thought. Such impulsiveness was unlike her, but she could count on Amy. Probably.

"Are you serious?" Amy asked, looking genuinely flattered. Aubrey sighed and shrugged.

"Dixie Chicks' serious!" Aubrey confirmed, smiling wickedly in the direction of Mark's office door. She knew successfully stealing Mark's assistant was probably going to be nothing more than a thorn in his side, but anything she could do to make his life a little harder was definitely worth the effort. "I've got to go have a rather important _talk_ with Mark, but when I come back, just walk out with me." Aubrey said maliciously, delighted when Amy enthusiastically agreed to the plan.

**XXX**

Mark swore he felt the temperature of his office grow immediately chillier when Aubrey Posen burst through his door.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of your random appearance, Ms. Posen?" he asked condescendingly, not bothering to glance up from the contract he was currently reviewing. Aubrey ignored his attempt at being patronizing, tossing her purse onto his desk with enough force to win his full attention.

"You can't say you haven't been expecting me." The blonde retorted, making herself comfortable, without invitation, in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Mark sighed, removing his reading glasses to fix Aubrey with an unamused stare.

"We've talked about Chloe," he droned, not bothering to direct his gaze anywhere other than Aubrey's breasts. While Mark found the young, blonde woman to be a constant source of trouble for him, he couldn't deny her attractiveness. In fact, he'd be willing to bet money her strange vendetta against him had nothing to do with her best friend, but rather her desire to get him into bed. "I'll keep quiet for as long as it takes, but there's no way I'm letting her out of the contract. She's young, she's hot, and she's somewhat decent at performing."

Aubrey ground her teeth at the remark before glancing at her bag and smirking. Mark groaned. When she made that face it never bode well for him. Sure enough, the blonde snatched a stack of papers from within her bag, shoving them unceremoniously under nose.

"That's a transcript of the texts you sent Chloe in the days leading up to her suicide attempt, they don't paint you in a very good light." Aubrey explained noncommittally. Mark perused the documents for several minutes, his expression growing more and more sour by the minute.

"To me this just looks like a manager trying to motivate his protégée." Mark, tossing the papers to his desk. He hadn't even bothered to finish reading through them. There was no way Posen was going to get her way, not this time.

Naturally, Aubrey had been anticipating this. While she hated to think of her best friend in terms of potential net worth, Chloe stood to become a very famous, very profitable pop star if she remained under Mark's thumb. She had risen very quickly to elite rankings just months after signing with Seward Industries, and they were eager to see how much money she would bring in the more seasoned she became. They were not very eager, however, to let go of her without a fight. It was for this very reason that Aubrey had begun looking into the mysterious "firings" of Mark's old secretaries, and what she had found was the cherry on top for an already compelling case of freeing Chloe from her contract.

"That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?" Aubrey asked, her voice sickly sweet and filled with sarcasm. "If I could, I'd like to direct your attention to the last couple paragraphs.," she directed, surprised when Mark did exactly as he was told. "One of the things that stands out to me is the email you accidentally sent to one of your former assistants."

Mark's face reddened to a disgusting shade of puce as he read through the message he very, very clearly remembered writing. He had intended to send the email to one of the other managers on his father's label, extolling the benefits of having such an attractive, yet insecure assistant. He had also bemoaned the fact that she claimed to be a lesbian, believing her only asserting this fact in order to avoid his advances. Undeterred, he'd outlined to the other manager his plan to coerce the young girl into sleeping with him, joking about how easy it had been to do with all the other "sluts" that came before her. When he realized the message had accidentally been received and opened by the young woman in question, he had pulled out the big guns in order to tarnish her reputation and salvage his own. The cover up had not gone so smoothly this time around, though, ending with the girl walking away silently in exchange for not having her name dragged through the mud. While this wasn't the morally ideal outcome for the girl, Mark had persuaded her into at least believing that any sort of scandal, even with her as the victim, would greatly lessen her chances of ever advancing her career.

His father had been less than pleased, obviously, threatening to yank out the recording empire from under his son's feet at the next hint of trouble. Now, trouble was once again presenting itself, this time in the form of covertly acquired emails and phone transcripts from the evilly smirking blonde woman across from him.

Mark tore off his reading glasses and hurled them onto the desk, startling Aubrey when he actually snarled. Chloe had been _his _discovery, his first project that he had seen from start to finish. He had worked with dozens of artists, but had never been the one to discover and directly manage them. And none had been as successful as Chloe. Remembering his father's threat, he growled again. There was no way he could fight back. Aubrey fucking Posen was going to get the best of him, again. And she looked so fucking smug.

"I'll have my assistant send over the papers next week." He muttered after a moment, feeling his patience and professionalism rapidly dissipating. Talk of his assistant only caused Aubrey's smirk to turn to a grin.

"Oh, Amy? She's resigning, actually," Aubrey beamed, grabbing her purse from the desk. "And I'll want those papers by Monday, Mark, otherwise your father is going to be getting a rather disappointing email." Aubrey added, faking an apologetic pout as she stood.

As she pulled the door shut behind her and motioned for Amy to follow, she could swear she heard a loud exclamation of "fuck" from the behind the closed door of Mark's office.

"You've still got it, don't you bitch?" Amy giggled, offering a closed fist in Aubrey's direction. Smiling wickedly, Aubrey bumped her own fist against Amy's, causing the two blondes to dissolve in a fit of laughter.

**XXX**

When Aubrey pulled up to the coffee shop across the street from the gym, Chloe was standing on the sidewalk sipping her coffee, looking very distracted as a familiar, secretive grin played across her face. Aubrey recognized the smile, it was the one Chloe did when she was up to something. Chloe didn't realize Aubrey had arrived until the SUV pulled to a stop directly in front her, startling the redhead enough to make her jump. Her suspicious smile turned into a full-blown grin as she hopped into the car, making Aubrey dramatically.

"I'm afraid to even ask." Aubrey groaned, bringing forth an eruption of giggles from her best friend. Chloe shrugged and handed Aubrey the coffee she'd purchased for her, smiling when she noticed the blonde also seemed to have something to share.

"Well, you're looking quite pleased with yourself as well!" Chloe accused, poking Aubrey lightly in the arm.

"I am pleased with myself! Mark went down like the little bitch he is, it was surprisingly easy," Aubrey said thoughtfully, taking a sip of her gifted drink. "He's sending the papers to my house, so we won't even have to back and see him!" Aubrey added, knowing the redhead was greatly appeased by the notion. "Guess who Mark's assistant was?"

"Not the girl it was three months ago, I'm assuming." Chloe mused darkly, knowing the man's propensity to run through assistants with alarming speed.

"Amy! It was Fat Amy! And I stole her to come work for me." Aubrey bragged, bracing herself against Chloe's high-pitched squeal of excitement.

"That's amazing! I love Amy!" Chloe screeched, bouncing up and down in her seat. She fell silent after a few moments of celebration. Aubrey looked at her expectantly.

"Well, what'd you do? You were making your guilty face when I pulled up." Aubrey prodded, making her friend laugh once more. There was a nervous edge to giggle, indicating to Aubrey that she'd done something Aubrey might be less than amused by.

"So you know how I asked Beca if she could sing this morning?" Chloe led, taking a drink of her coffee to delay her explanation.

"Yes…" Aubrey replied, tone laced with suspicion.

"Well, apparently we also go to the same gym," Chloe elaborated, causing Aubrey's eyebrows to rise slightly. "So I finished my run and heard singing from the showers in the locker room, but I knew she was the only other person in there. Turns out she's actually really good." Chloe offered. After a long pause, where she waited for a full explanation, Aubrey tried to piece together whatever it was Chloe was trying to say.

"Did you make her sing for you?" Aubrey pried, a look of discomfort on her face. Of course Chloe probably had forced someone to sing for her. She was a strange, yet very persuasive, girl and always had been. The redhead just shrugged and nodded, that same suspicious smile creeping back into place. "Okay, how? Trying to get Mitchell to do something is like pulling teeth."

Chloe muttered something that sounded oddly like "maybe for you" before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Aubrey looked over at the redhead, starting to feel as if she should be concerned.

"What did you do!"

More laughter, then finally a gasp for breath.

"Basically I cornered her while she was showering," the redhead gasped just as Aubrey attempted to take another sip of coffee. The blonde spluttered. "So, tonight should be delightfully awkward for you and her!" Chloe cackled. Aubrey continued struggling to breathe.

**So this chapter is super filler-y… I have the sixth one under way, I just felt there needed to be a transition. Next chapter is the Beca's show, featuring the arrival of more of the "Bellas."**

**Thanks for reading guys! **


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